What does the Bible have to say about human sexuality? This morning’s reading from Song of Solomon is an excellent place to begin. An unknown woman expresses her delight and excitement about her beloved in an exquisite poem. She watches him approach, running as gracefully as a young gazelle. She hears him call out to […]

Have you ever felt embarrassed or awkward because you were wearing the wrong thing to an occasion? I still remember my panic when my wealthy aunt invited me to the swanky LA country club while I was in seminary. The clothes that I had brought for my visit to her home were the casual ones […]

Four or five years ago I visited Minneapolis, Minnesota to see a childhood friend. As we walked through among the buildings of downtown Minneapolis, we kept running into people covered in thin, torn filaments of clothing with greenish skin and hair, sometimes completed with a mask featuring large teeth and dripping blood. At first, I […]

Where is God? This is a question raised by our lessons today. It is also a question we hear people ask, and perhaps have asked ourselves. “Where is God?” some of ask in the face of violence or hunger or natural disaster. “Where is God?” we sometimes wonder when someone we love dies. “Where is […]

There is a saying that has stuck with me since my high school days. I am unsure of its origin. It goes like this: “I would never want to join a club that would have me as a member.” (Repeat.) The thought of this saying is convoluted, and expresses a lack of confidence. Still, it […]

This week-end we celebrate America. In doing so, it is clear that there is much to be proud of, as well as much left to be done, especially in the area of ensuring liberty and justice for all our people. As a nation we have faced and overcome many hardships on the road toward our […]

Change and transition is an inevitable part of life. We may be frightened by it, despair over it or be excited by it, but we can’t stop it. It just is. One ancient philosopher made this point by saying “You can never step into the same stream twice,” and he is right. Even if in […]

Family is important to most of us. We are deeply influenced by the families that we grew up in. We tend to think of the values they shared with us, and the way they did things, as normal and normative. Thus, when a new family is being formed, there are many discussions, some of them […]